Articles Posted inPersonal Injury

The winter weather season is rapidly approaching. During this season, snow and ice accidents are a major cause of personal injuries. If you have an accident and fall on snow and ice, these are the Top Six things you or someone on your behalf should do as soon as possible:

1. Call for help – you or someone on your behalf should call 911 so that the Police can come and assess the situation and document the happening of the accident. In New York, the police will prepare what is called an Aided Report. Aided Reports record occurrences when an individual is injured (not involving a motor vehicle), becomes sick or lost and service is rendered by the New York City Police Department.

2. See Medical Attention – the police or someone on your behalf should call for an ambulance to transport you to the nearest hospital. This insures that you get prompt medical treatment for your injuries to help achieve the best chance of a good recovery. This also will ensure that your accident is documented in case any potentially responsible party disputes the occurrence.

U.S. News & World Report released their annual listing of “Best Law Firms” rankings. Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool, LLP was included in the New York City rankings in three practice areas – Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs. The partners and staff are truly honored to receive this recognition and wish to thank everyone, especially our satisfied clients and legal peers.

All of the attorneys at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool are extremely experienced and well versed in handling all types of personal injury claims. Indeed, personal injury law is the only type of law that we practice. We understand that your individual matter is your only case and the outcome can be critical to the future of yourself and your family. Our attorneys are selective about the cases we take, which allows us to concentrate on representing clients who have been seriously injured or killed in New York.

Many people often assume a motor vehicle accident always involves a car. While the majority of motor vehicle accidents in New York will involve a car, attorneys practicing in New York understand that motor vehicle accidents can and often do involve any number of different motor vehicles, as well as bicycles, in-line skaters and pedestrians. Victims of these types of motor vehicle accidents often face severe injuries, such as broken bones, scarring, head trauma, and amputations; in some cases these injuries can prove fatal.

A recent report by the New York Daily News concerning injuries sustained by the famous actor, George Clooney, serves as a perfect illustration for the types of accidents that can occur with vehicles other than a car. According to the article, Mr. Clooney was operating his scooter in Sardinia and was on his way to a movie set. A collision occurred between his scooter and another motor vehicle – in this case, a car. As a result, Mr. Clooney was hospitalized with injuries, the extent of which remain undetermined.

In New York, a proper legal analysis would include an evaluation of the relative fault of each of the parties involved in the accident as well as the nature of the injuries sustained. Since the reported accident involved a motorized scooter, as well as a car, it must be determined what laws govern the operation of a motorized scooter. In New York, a motorized scooter is considered to be a motorcycle and is required to be registered as such. New York attorneys familiar with motorcycle accidents will have a complete understanding of the law associated with motorcycle use and the issues surrounding motorcycle litigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that a failure to screen NJ Transit engineer for sleeping disorder caused Hoboken crash. Obstructive sleep apnea was a factor in the tragic accident according to an article on Lohud.com.

Perhaps more disturbing is that legislation to require the screening of employees for this sleeping disorder was withdrawn by the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in August. The NTSB had investigated five other train crashes since 2001 where sleep apnea was a cause.

Have you or a loved one suffered a serious injury in a train accident? If so, you may have grounds to file a negligence or wrongful death lawsuit against the railroad company or train’s manufacturer. For a free consultation with our train accident attorneys, call (212) 406-1700 or contact us online.

The "Tide Pod" Challenge has been in the news recently as a result of its increasing popularity and general awareness in social media circles. In essence, the "Tide Pod" Challenge involves primarily kids biting into brightly colored liquid laundry detergent packets, or cooking them in frying pans, then chewing them up before spewing the soap from their mouths, according to this article from the Washington Post. These acts are recorded and posted on social media.

However, these packets contain highly-concentrated laundry detergent which should not be ingested. The parent company, Proctor & Gamble, has issued warnings about the dangers of this activity and is taking this matter very seriously. YouTube is flagging videos about this activity and removing them from their site.

The question for those of us who have neither the desire nor inclination to film ourselves eating laundry detergent is "Why are people doing this in the first place?" At the outset, it must be noted that these packets are small, brightly colored and smell nice. In fact, in 2013, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued a warning about these products and the dangers of ingestion. The attraction to children is obvious: "The soft and colorful product can be easily mistaken by a child for candy, toys, or a teething product."

A new term is now in use for New Yorkers as we as we set to experience a “Bomb Cyclone.” What is a “Bomb Cyclone?” According to this article by Forbes.Com, it is essentially a winter hurricane – a powerful low pressure system that rapidly intensifies. Of course, a storm such as this increases the risk of accidents due to snow and ice on the streets and sidewalks which are a major cause of personal injuries. If you have an accident and fall on snow and ice, these are the Top Six things you or someone on your behalf should do as soon as possible:

1. Call for help – you or someone on your behalf should call 911 so that the Police can come and assess the situation and document the happening of the accident. In New York, the police will prepare what is called an Aided Report. Aided Reports record occurrences when an individual is injured (not involving a motor vehicle), becomes sick or lost and service is rendered by the New York City Police Department.

2. See Medical Attention – the police or someone on your behalf should call for an ambulance to transport you to the nearest hospital. This insures that you get prompt medical treatment for your injuries to help achieve the best chance of a good recovery. This also will ensure that your accident is documented in case any potentially responsible party disputes the occurrence.

We at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool, LLP wish all of our friends and clients who celebrate a very happy Hanukkah!

If you or a loved one have suffered serious injuries or death as a result of the negligence of another person or company, the attorneys at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool will give you a free consultation to determine your legal options. To see if you have grounds for a claim, call 212-406-1700 or contact us online.

The winter weather season is rapidly approaching. During this season, snow and ice accidents are a major cause of personal injuries. If you have an accident and fall on snow and ice, these are the Top Six things you or someone on your behalf should do as soon as possible:

1. Call for help – you or someone on your behalf should call 911 so that the Police can come and assess the situation and document the happening of the accident. In New York, the police will prepare what is called an Aided Report. Aided Reports record occurrences when an individual is injured (not involving a motor vehicle), becomes sick or lost and service is rendered by the New York City Police Department.

2. See Medical Attention – the police or someone on your behalf should call for an ambulance to transport you to the nearest hospital. This insures that you get prompt medical treatment for your injuries to help achieve the best chance of a good recovery. This also will ensure that your accident is documented in case any potentially responsible party disputes the occurrence.

The partners and staff wish to congratulate our partner, Barry Washor, for settling a Brooklyn Medical Malpractice case during trial for the amount of $10.85 million dollars. It is believed that this result ranks among the highest medical malpractice settlements of 2017. Congratulations also to our Partner, Kevin McDonald, and all of our exceptional staff, who assisted Barry with the preparation and trial of this matter.

The case involved a 32 year old construction worker who became paralyzed due to medical negligence in September 2012. The plaintiff was suffering from an aortic dissection, which was not diagnosed until two days after presentation to the hospital. During that two day period, he became paralyzed from the chest down and incontinent of bowel and bladder. He was transferred to another facility and underwent emergency repair of his aortic dissection. Unfortunately, the paralysis and bowel and bowel incontinence, secondary to the dissection, could not be reversed and is permanent. Since the surgery to repair the dissection, the plaintiff has remained paralyzed and incontinent and has undergone seven additional surgeries. He underwent a small bowel resection and now has a permanent iliostomy. Because of his immobility and fecal incontinence, he developed very painful sacral decubitus ulceration and has undergone surgeries to repair those. He also developed a condition called heterotopic ossification, a condition in which there is abnormal bone growth on various parts of the body. He underwent a series of surgeries to resect the heterotopic ossifications in his hips and knees. He is permanently disabled and he has been unable to return to work in any way.

During the trial of this matter, a settlement agreement was reached for the amount of $10.85 million. When asked about this incredible result, Barry stated that “This has been a long, hard-fought process and I am happy that we were able to achieve justice for our client.” Since he began practicing law in 1981, Barry has established a reputation as one of the top medical malpractice and personal injury lawyers in New York. His reputation stems from exceptional results and his integrity. His track record of success places him among the elite medical malpractice attorneys practicing in New York today.